A union which represents a small number of ambulance workers is calling for an independent cultural review being conducted into South West Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT) to include internal bullying and harassment, management failings and the impact of ‘chronic under resourcing’ upon sickness levels and overall morale.

The GMB has written an letter to the trust’s chief executive Ken Wenman seeking clarification of the scope of the review which he has commissioned.

It includes asking to look at the effects restrictive annual leave practices and rota implementation.

Ken Wenman, South Western Ambulance Trust chief executive

To conduct the review the trust has commissioned Professor Duncan Lewis who last year published a damning report into cultural issues at South East Coast Ambulance NHS Trust (SECAmb).

SWASFT says that according to figures for October 2017, 13 members of its staff pay their subscriptions to the GMB via payroll. Unison represents 1,208 and Unite eight.

Therefore the Exeter-based trust says Unison is the trade union it recognises and that the review is a result of the partnership working them over the past few months.

Abbey Court, the headquarters of South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Gary Palmer GMB Regional Organiser said: "Although welcomed by GMB, the review does raise concerns that the current scope will simply gloss over the issues currently being experienced by GMB members and staff within the trust.

"This move by SWAST has the real possibility of being a great opportunity for the organisation to rebuild some sort of trust with staff; but to do that it must be about things that staff see as an issue, and not just what the trust want to appear to be concerned about if they really want to culturally and physically improve staff conditions.”

Concerns raised by the GMB have been responded to by the trust.

The stress ambulance workers are under has been revealed by current and former staff members

A spokesperson for SWASFTsaid: “The chief executive of SWASFT has been really clear that the result of this review will be fully published, jointly owned by Unison and SWASFT, and all recommendations will be fully implemented under his leadership to ensure that SWASFT is the best organisation to work for that it can be.

“We will demonstrate that we value our staff enormously and that we are doing everything we can to ensure that our staff are supported to do the job they love.”

I just wanted to write to you on behalf of the GMB Union to request full clarification that the scope of any investigation and review by Professor Duncan Lewis ensures that organisational bullying and harassment, poor management practices, along with the affects restrictive annual leave practices, rota implementation and chronic under resourcing have and continue to have upon the Trust’s extremely stressed and stretched workforce, will be included in the independent cultural review announced in your weekly bulletin?

The reason we the GMB union ask are in regard to assurances about any review being both full and open in subject matter and access as previous such reviews by Professor Lewis in other NHS Trust’s has brought about significant changes / improvements in those workplaces, when the Trust has fully and openly assisted him by both allowing the review to be about things they as the employer might not want looked into, and guaranteed that they will act fully upon the report and recommendations, and not only the subject matter they as employer find palatable to avoid being labelled as simply putting up a smoke screen to avoid tackling the real issues going on in the workplace.

We are, of course, pleased of the appointment of Professor Lewis, as in light of the report outcome and subsequent cultural, management and organisational staff changes at SECAmb, staff’s working experiences have I believe improved directly as a result of the review he carried out and subsequent issues highlighted. Hopefully this one if open and comprehensive and acted upon will do the same.

So if a chance for change is really on the agenda with the commissioning by SWAST in partnership with Unison of Professor Lewis this review mustn’t be restricted to a mere surface look at prevailing cultures and how it informs job satisfaction, team and interpersonal interactions and communications and how you work as a whole, but delve openly into the reasons so many of your staff and our members feel so disillusioned and dissatisfied with the Trust’s current approach and leadership reaction to their concerns.